Serendipity
by Jester Fraser
Summary: Co-written with RougeChic. It's College time! But the first impressions Satine and Christian have of each other are not good! So how to deal? Their friends play matchmaker in this funny, romantic tale of a field trip to France. But will it work out?
1. Chapter OneArrival

**Serendipity**

Disclaimer: Blah dee blah, yeah, we don't own it…

Jester: Hello! This is Jester Fraser speaking, near me is RougeChic, whom is my hero! For she is Jew **bows** Well now, here we have another "Modern times, school time" fanfic with Moulin Rouge characters (along with personality!) HAhahahaha! We'll be looking into Christian and Satine...will they fall in love? I don't know! That's why we're writing this, in our journals. As we, RougeChic and I, experience this from first hand and tell the tale from day to day...or from day to week or blah...  
ANYWAY! We'll take the look, and now, my good reviewers, see what happens when the minds of a fluff-author (who is a genius!!) and a dramatic-comedy type author (who is an idiot..me) join heads and make a fic!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA  
  
RougeChic: Jester, you're not an idiot. EVERYBODY REVIEW US AND TELL JESTER THAT SHE ISN'T AN IDIOT!! Thanx bunches. =)   
**  
Chapter 1**   
  
18-year-old Christian James slowly stepped out of his car, and took a slow, deep breath.   
  
_Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale . . . oh, come on, Christian, you can do better than that! It's only college!_ he thought, while his mind really raced with excitement and nervousness. The College of Northeast London was his chance to prove writing as his forte, and hopefully turn it into a career. He was a poet and a good one at that.   
  
  
He took several steps to the trunk where he had previously stored his belongings. Opening it carefully, he looked around and began to wonder about the types of people he would meet.   
  
_"Maybe even her...."_ a voice at the back of his head said.   
  
He shook the thought. Falling in love had always been his dream. But that was a secret.   
  
All of a sudden, a small group of friends rounded the corner, glowers on their faces as they pointed and jeered.   
  
"That little slut," he heard one say, pointing with her index finger in the distance.   
  
"Always trying to get attention, the snob," said another, rolling his eyes at the rest of the group.   
  
"I mean, come on! So she's got a body and looks. Lots of people can sing and dance too! Doesn't mean she's gotta show it off all the time like a little whore. Stupid bitch . . . how much more arrogant can Satine get?"   
  
They all nodded in agreement, hurrying off and continuing their banter about Satine. Already, Christian didn't like her.   
  
_Okay, definitely not going to interact with . . . what's her name again? Satine? Yeah, that's it. I'll just avoid her,_ Christian thought. For the first time, he turned his head in the area the group's pointing fingers were directed.   
  
She certainly was the most beautiful creature Christian had ever seen, but the image was blurred by the remarks and comments he had just heard. Satine, if that was who she was, was a tall, slim girl, with long, fiery red hair to the middle of her back. Her creamy skin seemed like porcelain, and her sparkling eyes were the most beautiful shade of blue.   
  
So then, why in the world was she wearing a glittery corset and top hat, dancing around and singing like nobody's business?   
  
Christian rolled his eyes. As he walked away, luggage in hand, he had already taken a dislike to this Satine.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
"Oh, you're such a spoil sport!" Nny whined, hitting Satine lightly on the arm.   
  
"What's gotten into you lately, Satine? I thought you were the fearless independent girl!"   
  
"Yeah, come on, girl! We. . . double-doggy-dare ya!" said Anna, leaning onto Satine's shoulder.   
  
"PLEEEASE?!?" they both exclaimed, plastering on their puppy-dog pouts, and masterfully so.   
  
"Fine, fine, fine . . ." Satine said, rolling her eyes at the two girls who just slapped high fives, giggling hysterically. "You guys owe me big!" Nny just laughed, putting her arm around her.   
  
"Just do it," she said.   
  
An hour later, while Anna and Nny were laughing their heads off, Satine was busy wondering what in the name of god she was doing, dressed in a silver, sparkly, and VERY revealing corset, dancing and singing to the well-known tune of _Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend_ while people stared, and jeered, and called her a whore.   
  
Now, why she was doing this, she didn't know. But Anna and Nny were her best friends, and truth or dare was their tradition. But all she knew was that it made a very, very bad first impression.   
  
"Hey, Satine, what're you doing?!" She heard a soft voice call from the door to the dorms. Satine turned to see her good friend Satie standing there, holding a box (containing music numbers no doubt) and gawking at her. Satine did her best to keep herself covered with her arms as she blushed.   
  
"I was just..uh, singing...and er...dancing..." she muttered. Satie dropped his box and walked over to her. He pushed up his small round spectacles and straightened his brown hat as he stood in front of her.  
  
"Get in the shade, where less people will see you," Satie said as he nudged her to the door. She walked over. "I already have started to hear rumors and such! Satine, you should know better by now!"  
  
Satine nodded, this was so like Satie. Satie was like an overprotective brother to her. Satie continued, "Let me guess, Nny and Anna dared you to do this as one of those Annual Beginning of the School Year Truth or Dare games am I right?"  
  
"Yes," Satine said.  
  
"Why would they make you do a thing like this though? I mean, come on, they hate hearing bad rumors about you too!"  
  
"Just as an excuse to beat people, you know how they are. They like to beat people who insult their friends up, especially Nny," Satine said. "Besides, I think they were getting revenge from last year."  
  
"Last year?"  
  
"You don't wanna know..." Satine then went back to her dorm as quickly as possible.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Christian hauled up boxes to his new dorm room. He couldn't see where he was going, since he carried two boxes. He tried to warn people as he went through, "Excuse me! Coming through! Blind here, can't see in front of me!"  
  
But one person didn't hear and didn't see.  
  
Whoosh! Bam! The boxes flew forward as Christian went down, tumbling onto someone else.  
  
"Ow!!" Christian yelled as his head hit the floor.   
  
"Ouch!" he heard the man he tripped over yelp as he nursed his foot.  
  
"I'm so sorry! I couldn't see!-" Christian began to apologize as he grabbed his boxes.  
  
"No, no need, I should've gotten out of the way, but short legs, y'know," the man talked with a lisp. "Too short to move fast!"  
  
"I'm sorry," Christain said again. "Uh, do you know where room 18 is?"  
  
"Oui," the man said standing at his full height of four foot three, he elaboratively twirled his cane and then pointed to the door they were right next to. "It is here!"  
  
"Ah thank you!" Christian said shaking his hand. "My name's Christian James. Who are you?"  
  
"I'm your flatmate, Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec Monfa," Toulouse said happily shaking his hand. "You can just call me Toulouse!"  
  
"Hello! Nice to meet you, flatmate!" Christian said. He kicked his to boxes into the already canvas cluttered room. Toulouse squeezed in behind him and started to clean up the canvases that littered the floor.  
  
"Please excuse the mess! I got here like two hours ago, at ten," Toulouse said as he stacked canvas upon canvas according to their size in his corner of the room. Christian stacked his boxes on his side and left to get more Toulouse stopped him first asking, "Would you like help unloading?"  
  
"Yes, that'd be great!" Christian said and he and his newfound friend to the task of unpacking the rest of his stuff.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Students packed the main hall in the College of Northeast London as the Dean gave them the orientation.  
  
"Welcome new students to the College of Northeast London, where we'll bring out the best in you so you can go on and achieve great things in this world," the Dean said. Already most of the new students were getting bored and conversing with people beside them.  
  
Nny, Satine and Anna sat all next to each other. Nny and Anna talked to the three people sitting behind them, an Argentinean who was called Narky, Satie, someone they had already knew, and a new found friend named Toulouse.  
  
"So how'd an Argentinean end up in ol' London?" Nny asked Narky. Narky struck as a much of a dashing pose as he could in the little seat he sat in.  
  
"My acting skills! I applied here after some time in Buenos Aires, which is in Argentina, where I moved to after high school to start acting, but that was not good enough. After a while, I heard talks of this place and applied as quickly as possible. I also liked to take history, and I didn't want to buy into the Hollywood types. No one from Hollywood can act!" Narky said in a deep and rich Argentinean accent. Nny wondered how long it would take for him to lose it. Nny herself was American originally, moved to London in the eighth grade, and she still had traces of her American accent.  
  
"So Toulouse, you paint?" Anna asked excitedly. Toulouse nodded.  
  
"Painting is my life!" Toulouse said. The mention of painting sparked Nny's interest as well. "When you paint, you don't just capture a moment or scene like a camera, but you capture the spirit and the essence with out taking it away from the actual thing."  
  
"I see you can paint with words as well!" Nny said, nudging Anna, who loved to write.  
  
"Not really, I'm not all that much of a writer at all," Toulouse said.   
  
"Do you play instruments?" Anna asked. Toulouse shook his head but Satie piped up.  
  
"I play instruments," he said in his naturally soft voice.  
  
"What ones?" Anna asked.  
  
"I play all types!" Satie said. "I can play anything from violin to piano, from trumpet to flute! Drums and bells, I can play them all!"  
  
"Ooh cool! That's so interesting!" Anna said. Nny nodded in agreement.  
  
Satine wasn't paying attention to their conversation, but to the one in front of her. Some people were talking shit about someone, and it amazingly, it wasn't her!  
  
"I tell you, Brit, he's a complete geek and dork! He's so geeky and so polite, he has to be gay!" One girl said.  
  
"Oh, really? But I like polite guys!" Brit defended.  
  
"Yeah, but this guy's a real dweeb. The overly-sensitive poet guy, ya know? Quiet, mousy, with no cares in the world for anything but his writing. No interest in getting friends- that kinda thing. Bet he'd be really mean if he decided to talk."  
  
"Ick!" they both exclaimed, giggling.  
  
"What's his name?" asked Brit.  
  
"Christian James," responded the other girl.  
  
_Christian James_, Satine thought, _Well, I know to stay away from him! They're probably right- overly sensitive dork, with no feelings for anyone. Sheesh! How much lower can you get? No doubt he'd turn out to be an ass if any words came out of his good-for-nothing mouth!  
  
Christian closed his eyes as he tried to zone out all the conversations around him and focus on a story for a book. But the conversation taking place behind him just wouldn't go out like the others had. He listened, it's not like he could help it anyway.  
  
"Look at that fiery haired slut! She's such a whore! Did you see the way she tried to seduce Satie?! If she had a brother, I'm sure she'd fuck him too!" a girl said from behind Christian.  
  
"Oh, I know! She probably goes out into the streets every night like some prostitute!!" the other girl said.  
  
"No doubt! Where's Jack the Ripper when you need him?!" They laughed.   
  
"Exactly and she's so high and mighty too! Just because she has money doesn't mean she has to rub it in our faces! She probably can't count past two!" the girl said, and they laughed again.  
  
_Satine is that bad huh? Well then, I'm definitely staying away from that stupid slut. _Christian thought to himself.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"So, Anna, what classes are you taking?" Nny asked as they opened the door to their three bedroom flat she, Satine, and Anna had rented just a block away from the regular dorms.  
  
"Umm . . . I think French, Theater, and English are some of the ones I chose can't really remember anything else. What about you?" Anna said.  
  
"Well, none of the classes you have. But I'm in French, too. Guess that'll be one of the only ones I've got with you." Nny responded.  
  
"Ditto," said Satine. "We're all in French."  
  
"Hey, wait, remember those guys we were talking to in Orientation? Aren't they in French, too?" Anna asked.  
  
"Narky, Satie, Toulouse... those guys?" asked Nny. "Guess so. We've got a French group. Should be fun."  
  
"Hey, guys," Satine said suddenly. "Have you heard about that guy, Christian James?"   
  
"No," Nny responded. "Why?"  
  
"Well, I heard so much about him- he's so unlike us! Seems like a total dweeb- all sweet and fake-polite on the outside, but I heard that on the inside, he's supposed to be an ass!"  
  
"Wait, Christian James, you said?" asked Anna.  
  
"Yes, at least that's what I heard," said Satine.  
  
"No WAY!" exclaimed Anna, her eyes wide.  
  
"Ummm.. yeah, I think so.  
  
"You've gotta be kidding! Christian? Christian James? He's my pal!"  
  
Satine stared.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Yeah! We took a creative writing class thing a couple years back. You think I love to write- wait until you see him! This kid is amazing! He's a great storyteller and poet."  
  
"Yeah, I heard that- but I also heard he cares about nothing else," retorted Satine.  
  
"No way, Christian's a sweetie. A little shy, but definitely sweet.." Satine rolled her eyes.  
  
"Yeah, well, I think I'm sticking to the other story."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
Thoroughly exhausted from the long walk up the stairs and from the orientation hall, Christian and his newfound friend Toulouse collapsed onto their beds, breathing slightly heavily.  
  
"Glad that's over with," sighed Christian, throwing a half-smile in Toulouse's direction. Toulouse nodded.  
  
"Yes, I'd like to get painting as soon as possible."  
  
"Painting?" Christian asked.  
  
"Yeah, that's how I'm paying my way through college. But I love it, it's how I express myself. Art is so beautiful." Christian nodded his head in agreement.  
  
"That's so great! I can't paint for my life- writing is the only thing I can do. What kinds of things do you paint?"  
  
"Oh, lots- people, mostly, they're the most interesting subjects. And there's plenty of interesting people on campus to capture on paper," Toulouse replied.  
  
"Speaking of interesting people," Christian said, turning to face Toulouse more fully, "Did you see that girl this morning?"  
  
"What girl?"  
  
"It was unbelievable, she seemed like such a show-off. I'm really not one to gossip, but everyone seems to have heard of her. She was dancing and singing just like a . . . a . . . " Christian trailed off.  
  
"Wait, what did she look like?"  
  
"Oh, well," Christian softened slightly, "she was beautiful- glowing porcelain skin, sparkling blue eyes, and this fiery red hair that was so-" he cut off, blushing. He cleared his throat. "But, umm, that's not the point. I just really didn't like the sound of her . . . what was her name again . . . Satine, I think?"  
  
"Satine?" Toulouse gasped, wide-eyed.  
  
"Umm, yeah, I think so," Christian said, bewildered at his response.  
  
"Ah, now I remember! Satine! Of course!"  
  
Christian stared.  
  
"She was a good friend of mine when I first started painting," he explained.   
  
"What?!" Christian exclaimed, shocked. Toulouse wasn't like Satine at all!  
  
"Met her in a bar, she was singing- man, she has a voice like an angel . . . anyways, Satine is a great friend of mine, and was always supportive of my art. She was even willing to pose for me when I asked!"   
  
"No way. This Satine is . . well . . . slutty. . . " _

Toulouse laughed, "Well, she is beautiful. But she's a dear friend of mine."  
  
"Yeah, well, I think I'm sticking to the other story."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
RougeChic: And so the war begins! But our naive little friends, not even in their wildest dreams, would think that their ending would . . . oh come on, do you really think we're going to tell you!? Review, and find out. BWAhahaha. . . .   
  
Um, yeah. Hehe. Please read and review!!  
  
Note from Jester:   
  
Go to the BohoWave Forums! I'm starting a Chat Site for Bohemians, and will want help, if you can help, please visit the forums! Or just visit in anticipation of the chat itself!!  
  



	2. Chapter TwoFirst day of Class

**Serendipity**

Jester: Yeah, yeah, so we don't own it! Okay, get it through your head, we don't! And this disclaimer applies throughout the whole story and upcoming chapters.

~~Begin Chapter~~

Anna and Nny walked along the sidewalk quickly, determined to find Christian before French class. They entered the Fine Arts Building (NOTE: Eh, we don't really know how the campus of College of North East London is like, so I [Jester] am making it like my El Dorado campus, as far as buildings are anyway.) in hopes of meeting Christian at the door. Anna stood there look for Christian, not looking in the room, Nny looked in and saw someone, a dark haired figure, dressed in a…suit…

"Hey Anna," Nny asked tapping Anna's shoulder. Anna turned. Nny pointed to him, "Who's that? He's wearing a suit!"

"Oh! That's Christian, I should've known he'd be to French half an hour early!" Anna said. Opening the door, she said to Nny, "French is his favorite class, next to English, of course. I remember him telling me how he spoke French, and he really did! He really loves France."

"Ah," Nny said walking in behind Anna. The man turned, he looked at the two new classmates of his.

"Hello," Christian said standing up. "My name's Christian James."

"H-hi, I'm…" Nny trailed off. She was amazed at how amazingly WOWZA [A/N:  This is Christian we're talking about.  Are words other than "WOWZA" needed?  *winks*] this guy was. "I'm Nny."  

"Nice to meet you," Christian said. Nny grinned then shook his hand.

"You probably don't remember me," Anna said. She whispered to Nny, "I wouldn't blame him, but I hope he puts on an 'I'm sorry!' face…"

"Yeah," Nny whispered back. Christian couldn't hear them, but he looked Anna over, digging up any memories he could.

"I'm from your Creative Writing class, high school, just one year, remember?" Anna said. "I sat right next to you, we talked quite a bit… well…" she giggled.  "I did most of the talking anyway."

Christian started look a little guilty for not remembering.

"Anna," Anna said. "My name's Anna, remember now?"

Christian's eyes lit up, now he remembered! He shook her hand, "Oh yes! I remember now! Hey, how goes it? Geeze, sorry I couldn't remember, I have a bad memory! How are you? It's been a while!"

He hugged her. Nny's jaw dropped and she had that look that said, 'Hey! Why don't I get a hug??' Anna smiled a smile that said, 'This is better than the puppy dog apology face!'

Christian let go of her. Anna pouted a split second then said, "It's alright, I really don't mind. It's been going well with me, and how have you been?"

"I've been doing okay," Christian said. "I kinda miss Liverpool though."

"Ah, yeah, homesickness can be heart-wrenching, leaving the place you were born," Nny said.

"Oh, no," Christian said. "I was born in London, I lived here for up to my Ninth Year, then I went to Liverpool. I really liked it there, but I decided to come back to London since it had better college choices, better for my writing, y'know?"

"Ah okay," Nny said. "I originally wanted to go back to America to go to college but _someone_ kept from doing so!" Nny looked at Anna. She just looked around all innocent like.

"What? Who, me?" Anna said innocently. Christian laughed. 

"Yeah, I definitely remember you," Christian said.

"Who could forget her?" Nny asked.

~~Elsewhere~~

Toulouse walked along the campus, sitting outside the Humanities Building; he was twenty minutes early for French Class. So he decided to sit outside, where most inspiration came to him, and draw. He put his charcoal pencil to his sketchbook and immediately just started to make lines, smooth lines, round here, sharp there, light here, dark there. Soon enough, in just a few minutes, Toulouse had sketched out a man tapping his foot, as he stood on a dance floor, dressed in early twentieth century clothing, or later nineteenth, and wearing a top hat as he readied to dance, without a partner. But a band could be seen playing below the stage, the conductor was obviously Satie.

"My, my, as great of an artist as ever, Toulouse, you still have the great talent, and- ah, even improved," Satine said walking up behind him. Toulouse jumped, dropping his sketchbook and turned around.

"Satine! Oh, my Sparkling Diamond Modeler! How are you, m'dear? It's been so long since I last saw you!" Toulouse said hugging her as she hugged back.

"Hello, Toulouse!" Satine said happily. "I've been doing just fine. How have you been? I know it's been forever!"

"I'm good, I'm good," Toulouse said picking up his pencil and sketchbook. 

"Oh sorry, about that," Satine said, picking up a few stray papers. She ordered them and handed them to him. "What do you have now?"

"I have French in ten minutes," Toulouse said.

"Oh so do I!" Satine said. "Monsieur Zidler?"

"Oui!" Toulouse said. He offered his arm to her, even though he was shorter; he was a gentleman still. "Allow me to walk you to your class Mademoiselle?" 

"Oh, Oui, Monsieur! Merci!" Satine giggled as she held loosely to Toulouse's arm and they walked to French.

Satine walked into the classroom no longer holding Toulouse's arm, but Toulouse was holding the door open for her. She noticed Anna and Nny sitting near the wall talking to a fine, handsome dark haired, blue eyed man. She called to them, "There you two are! Leaving your flatmate all alone in the morning, can you get no crueler?"

"What?" Nny said shrugging. "It's not our fault you wouldn't wake up!"

Anna laughed. Nny jumped down from the second table on the second step of tables that descended to the level ground where the professor taught. 

"We're sorry, good Saint Satine, please forgive us?" Nny said.

"Forgiven," Satine played along. Nny laughed.

"Oh, Satine, meet our friend, Christian James," Anna said pointing to Christian who had not taken his eyes off of Satine since she entered the room. Now Christian averted his eyes. Nny looked at Anna- they grinned. 

This was going to be fun.

"Hi," Satine said, a little less enthusiastically.

"Hi," Christian muttered. 

"Shake hands!" Nny said. Satine and Christian reluctantly shook hands with Satine.

_So this is the famous Christian James,_ Satine thought as Christian held her hand delicately.  _Okay, he may be an aggravatingly naïve and ignorant prep, but he's damn cute!    Satine looked over her acquaintance's face.  __And charming, and handsome, and sweet, and… oh, those eyes… those beautiful gray eyes… _and, what soft, tender hands…NO!  _Her eyes widened.  __Not falling in love, not falling in love…She narrowed her eyes at him, concentrating on the fact that they were, indeed, in a classroom, and choice of apparel was, indeed, a suit._

_Dork._

_That's better._

_Such soft, kind hands, like a virgin, caring and light,_ Chrisian thought.  His poetic soul had just re-awoken. He wanted to just burst into song, and over a handshake nonetheless! Christian very quickly pushed it back though, and retracted his hand before he lost control, as did Satine.

"Oh, look, Narky, we're not the early birds after all!" Satie's quiet voice floated in the room. Everyone turned to see Satie and Narky standing just in front of the door. "Hello all."

"Hey, Satie!" Nny said greeting him. "Hey, Narky!"

"Hola," Narky said.

"You should say, 'Bonjour'," Satine said, "This is French class after all."

"He can say whatever he wants," Christian snapped. Satine looked at him.

"I was just saying!" Satine said.

"Well don't," Christian snapped back.

"Ugh," Satine said taking a seat. "Will you stop being so picky?"

"Why don't you?"

"I was just saying that because this _is_ French class! And I do know the teacher, I had him in High School too, he doesn't like it when people speak Spanish in his French class!" Satine said. "And it was just a _joke!"_

Christian sat down, six chairs from her, "Fine! Sorry!"

"Ugh!" Satine said and didn't bother talking to him anymore. _They were completely right! Nothing good from that mouth! Some overly sensitive sap!_ Satine thought angrily to herself.

_Just an uptight, high class bitch, just like they said! I can't believe my friends actually accept her!_ Christian thought angrily to himself. He stole a glance at Satine, _But she's so beautiful…No! Don't think like that! That LAST person you'll ever fall in love with is her! No way! Put it away!_

Nny sat down in the middle of the five empty seats between the two. She loved to get in the middle of things, as did Anna.  

And it was time to play Matchmaker.

 Satie took the seat next to Satine, Toulouse was next to him, then Nny, then Narky and then Anna. They sat in the first row, something that Nny and Anna usually never did.  

Their professor entered the room, and little by little the babble of nervous students began to die down as they watched this rather large, flaming redhead of a man cross the room.  And what was that he was wearing?  Was that _lipstick?_

"Hello, class, my name is Monsieur Zidler.  Say it with me now, Monsieur Zziiddd-lleerr."  He wrote it on the blackboard, the chalk squeaking ear-splittingly loud.

Anna and Nny shared a look.  This guy was _weird._

"Yes, now," Monsieur 'Zziiddd-lleerr" continued, "as you all know or should know, this is your French class, where we will be studying not only the beautiful language known as French, but also much about the fascinating culture behind it.  Yes, that _does_ mean a field trip to Paris."

The class erupted into cheers.  Monsieur Zidler chuckled.

"Yes, yes, should be fun.  Now, onto more serious topics.  Has anyone heard of the Moulin Rouge?"

Anna and Nny squealed, knocking over their chairs as they jumped up, cries of "OOOH!  OOOH!  OOOH! OOH!" escaping their lips.  They liked the Moulin Rouge.

Correction.

They _loved the Moulin Rouge._

"Yes, ah… you two.  Give it a shot," Monsieur Zidler said, looking a little nervous as he watched the over-enthused and _very hyper girls continue their little groupies-at-a-concert moment.  How touching._

"THE MOULIN ROUGE IS A NIGHTCLUB IN PARIS!" They both shouted simultaneously.

"Ah… um… one at a time, please, girls…" Monsieur Zidler said, growing even more uneasy.  He took a step back.

"It was opened in 1889-"

"And was a brothel and a nightclub-"

"Home to the famous French can-can-"

"With whores and can-can dancers-"

"Who seduced the rich and powerful men-"

"AS THEY DANCED THE NIGHT AWAY!" they finished with insane grins on their faces.  Nny and Anna had a talent of finishing each others' sentences.  To this, they linked arms and began to dosi-do-and-swing-your-partner-round-and-round around the room as they sang.

"TO THE BEAT OF THE RHYTHM OF THE NIGHT, DANCE UNTIL THE MORNING LIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!!!!!"

Soon, collapsing into fits of hysterical giggles, the two girls found their way back to their seats, dissolved in their laughter to the amusement of all.  It was really quite funny.

Anna and Nny adored the spotlight, can't you tell?

Monsieur Zidler cleared his throat, a smile smile on his face as well.  "_Well, as you have heard from these, ah, lovely girls… what are your names?"_

"Nny!"

"Anna!"

"Yes, as you have heard from Nny and Anna, the Moulin Rouge was a nightclub, brothel, dancehall, bordello, however you like, in 19th century Paris, also known as- does anyone know?"  Christian raised his hand.

"The Belle Epoque," he answered proudly.

_Know-it-all_, Satine thought.

"Very good, my boy, very good," Zidler said.  "And during the Belle Epoque, the penniless writers, artists, musicians, actors, dancers, and what have you traveled to Paris to join the- does anyone know?"  Satine raised her hand.

"The Bohemian Revolution," she answered proudly.

_Showoff_, Christian thought.

"Yes, yes, excellent.  The bohemians were the classic starving artists, a very beautiful lifestyle that inspired many a story, many a poem, many a play, many a movie, many an opera…" the man sniffed tearfully.  "It was all so _inspirational!" he proclaimed dramatically, dabbing delicately at his eyes with a pink handkerchief he had produced from his coat pocket.  Nny stifled a giggle as Anna covered her mouth.  French was even more fun than either could have imagined!_

Meanwhile, Satine was studying her hands absently.  _Yes, that would have been Christian.  A hopelessly naïve penniless poet, with no money and no life.  _Stupid, sappy, cliché writers… they're really ones to turn a girl off!  What a classic, ignorant bohemian he would have been.  __

Christian was, in the meantime, staring blankly off into space._  Yes, that would have been Satine.  The star of the Moulin Rouge, a rich, spoiled whore, surrounded by diamonds and a cold, loveless life.  What a classic, black-hearted whore she would have been!_

Now, as authors of this lovely AU fic, keep in mind that _we_ are the rulers of the fanfic, _we_ are the queens of all that is fictional, and _we_ are allowed to put anything we want in here, including our own opinions that aren't the characters' thoughts or dialogue.  So, uh… *ahem-hem-hem*:

Déjà vu, anyone?

Anyways.

"So class," Zidler continued, who had recovered from his moment of melodrama quite speedily, "this trip to Paris in the coming month will not be only a nice little vacation for you all.  There will be work involved- a project, actually, in which you and a partner will be writing a skit explaining the glory and wonder of 19th century Paris and the Moulin Rouge.  This can be in any form you want- interview, play, short skit, or even a musical, for those of you who are daring.  It can be as long as you want, or as short as you want.  It can be live, on video, recorded on tape… I am going to be very lenient with this.  However," he said, "However, I _will assign partners…"_

Everyone groaned.

"Yes, okay, aww, you don't get to choose, tear, all right, now that that's over, I _will assign partners, and whether you like your partner or not, you will be working with them in a _kind, respectful, and courteous manner_.  No buts.  Now then, how about…" he studied the class and his notebook in which all the students' names were written down._

"Well, I can't possibly split you two up, so, Nny and Anna, you will work together…"  The girls slapped high-fives. 

"Fun stuff, huh?" Anna said, grinning.

"I know!  A project on the Moulin Rouge?  Can you say 'sweet'?!" Nny exclaimed.

"And, ah… How about, what is this, Henri Marie Raymond Toulouse Lautrec Montfa?"

"At your service, Monsieur!" the dwarf proclaimed, standing up out of his seat.

"And how about… how about, mmm…" he studied the list. "Narky, is it?"

"Yes, sir," a gruff voice answered.

"Very well, then, Narky and… can I call you Toulouse?  
  


"But of course, my dear sir!"  Toulouse exclaimed enthusiastically.

"And… mmm… Erik Satie and… the _Doctor?  Is that your name?"_

"Yes…" a voice said from somewhere in the room.

"Okay, then, you two… and Christian James and… oh, let's see…"

_Not Satine_, Christian thought, clenching his eyes shut.

_Not me_, Satine prayed, crossing her fingers tightly.

"Ah, yes, perfect.  Christian and Satine… you know, those names _do go together quite well, not to imply anything inappropriate, but really now… Christian and Satine, it just flows, you know?  Christian and Satine, Christian and Satine, Christian and Satine…"_

Their faces could not have been any more red.

"Sorry about that, kiddies.  Christian and Satine, you will be working together."

Uh oh.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

BWAHAHAHA!  Oh, it's so fun being evil, you know?  Yes, of course you know.

Did you know my English teacher calls us "kiddies"?

No, you didn't, did you.

Jester:  Anna, they don't care.

Anna:  Right.  But… could you review anyways?  *bats eyes innocently*

Jester: They don't care about that, but THEY DO CARE about the New chat for the Bohemians! Yes! Hostdepartment was down, but I SWITCHED SERVERS!! Bwahahahahahaha, so, my dearie little reviewers, go visit Bohowave, the chatsite for bohemians! New server, same accounts!

(If you had an account there before, you don't need to re-sign up, unless it was a New Boho account, then it was probably deleted, but just try first. Note, it's a little shaky, I have to RECODE IT ALL!!)


	3. Chapter Three: Evil Nny and Romantic Ann...

**Serendipity**

Jester: HERE'S CHAPTER…uh…Three right? Yeah, three.

Anna: …duh…Anyway, good people, here it is! ^_^

~~Being Chapter~~

"AGGHH!"  

Satine's agitated moan echoed through the dorm once more, her red hair tangled  in her fingers as she attempted to rip it out of her head.

"Oh, come off it, Satine, he's a sweet boy-"

"NOOO!"

"What you want-" 

Aretha Franklin's rich vocals thumped in the background, Anna and Nny singing along as they occasionally tried to calm the hysteric Satine.

"Baby I got it-"

"GRRRRR!"

"Satine, you don't even know what you're talking about-"

"What you need-"

"STUPID PROFESSOR!"

"You know I got it-" 

"WHY does everything happen to ME?  Huh?  A LITTLE SYMPATHY, HERE!"  Satine addressed the cracked ceiling.

"R-E-S-P-E-C-T-"

"Will you two shut up?!"  Satine screeched, yanking the plug out of its socket, cutting Ms. Franklin off.

Brrring!!

Um, that would be the phone.

Brrring!!

"I got it, I got it. . ." Nny muttered.  She picked up the phone.

"Yeah?" she said.

Satine and Anna saw a wicked smile spread slowly across her face as the unknown caller spoke.

"Will you hang on for one moment, Christian?" she asked sweetly, dragging out his name to grab Satine's and Anna's attention.  As she pressed a button, she sneezed loudly to cover up the click it made as it transitioned to. . . speakerphone.  Oh, was this going to be fun.

"Sorry, Christian, had to sneeze.  What's goin' on?"

"Oh nothing, I just wanted to... to talk.  Toulouse is out."

"Oh reeeeally,"  Nny said slyly, smiling.  "Whatever about?"

"Well, it's. . . she. . . I don't know. . ."

"Satine?"

"NO!  Why would. . . I mean. . . well. . . yes."  Nny laughed.

"You like her?"

They could almost feel his blush.

"NO!  I-I. . . I mean. . . no.  No, not at all, I HATE her!  Why did I have to be partners with HER?  God, everything happens to me, why, why, why. . .  THAT'S what I needed to talk about, and I thought you might listen."

Satine bristled.

"Of course I would listen.  Now I've got to go, but I think I have someone here who wants to say hi, OY, SATINE!"

A gasp escaped the speakerphone.

"Sh-she's there?"

"Course I'm here, you little prat!  Hang up the phone!"

A click.

Anna and Nny burst into laughter.

"So it's mutual.  I'm glad." Satine murmured to no one in particular.

"You like him, don't you?"

"W-what?!"  Satine's face flushed.  "OF COURSE NOT!  I hate his bloody guts!"

"Right then," Anna said, giggling.

"I'm going out," Satine announced, yanking her coat that was perched haphazardly on a chair and marching huffily out the door, slamming it behind her.

"Am I good, or am I good?  Don't even ANSWER, 'cause I KNOW I'm good!"  Nny said laughingly. 

"You know, he was right," Anna said suddenly.

"What?  Who?"  Nny said, still smiling broadly.

"About their names.  Christian and Satine."

~~~~****

"I can't believe she did that!" Christian said looking at his phone on the other side of the room. "I can't believe it…no wonder she sounded distant. Now Satine's goin' to think I'm a dumbass…no, wait, why would I care? I don't care! Yeah, I should be glad she heard that! Right?"

Christian sighed. He didn't know…

~~~~****

Nny and Anna laughed, still laughing even though the occurrence was just ten minutes ago. They couldn't stop laughing. The grinned, and laughed, and choked, lost breath, breathed again, and then did it all over again. 

"Yes, he was right, indeed," Nny said. Anna nodded. Nny grinned evilly, "And that means hehe, evil plotting and planning! All to take place in Paris!"

"No, but really…" Anna trailed off, wiping the tears of mirth off of her face.

"What?"

"Their names, Nny, their names."

"What on earth are you talking about?  We established that their names sound good, yeah, great, good, wonderful, okay?"

"No, but it's like…" 

"Oh no, here we go…" Nny groaned, rolling her eyes.

"WHAT?!?"  Anna screeched defensively.

"You're such a damn sap!  Get over yourself!" she shot back.

"But it's poetic!  Christian and Satine, Christian and Satine,"  Anna sighed.  "So romantic!"

"Aw, give me a break," Nny said dryly.

"Unfeeling bitch!"

"HOPELESS ROMANTIC!"

"That's a compliment, darling, just so you know."  Anna stated.

"All right, all right, let's get down to business, lover-girl.  The point is that we're in this matchmaking together, right?  Whether it's for the amusement of conniving schemers," Nny said, a sly grin spreading across her face.

"OR because it's so ROMANTIC!"

"…yeah, yeah, or because it's so ROMANTIC," Nny mocked in a perfect Anna voice, swooning dramatically.

Anna reached into her pocket and pulled out several pound notes. She tossed it on the bed and sat down. Nny did the same. Anna said, "We should take half of our money from each day and put it in a jar. This'll be our shopping money, and the money to cover any restaurants, and for any 'random' bumping into each other that they may do during the trip."

"We're going to have to do more than just that," Nny said. Anna looked at her quizzically. Nny grabbed her laptop and showed Anna a card then inserted it into her laptop, "Today, I installed my very own wireless cable internet! Made by myself, and completely trackless to other systems!"

"You did WHAT?!" Anna gasped. "Trackless? What do you mean by trackless?!"

"I can hack into anything with out anyone knowing but me," Nny grinned. "Now, naturally this is illegal, but only if people find out. So you will be silent yes?" Anna nodded.

"What're you going to do?"

"When we buy the tickets, they use the computers to judge where people sit, y'know, something like that. I will make it so Christian and Satine have seats next to each other. Naturally, you or I will be there, to sit in the window seat, so they can't look out and avoid each other."

"Nny you are prime evil."

"I know. But then again, it's you who can really match people up. Last time I played matchmaker by myself, I ended up having two people hate each other," Nny said. 

"Yeah, me and Ryan," Anna said. "The bastard!"

~~~~****

"How dare that overly sensitive, bad mouth, stupid…stupid...stupid…ARGH he's so horrible I can't think of an insult to match him!" Satine yelled as she walked down the street. People stopped and looked at her. She glared at them, "What are you looking at?!"

The immediately went back to their own workings and dealings. Satine continued down the street muttering angrily to herself. 

"He didn't have to say those things," Satine said. "But…he sounded a bit hesitant…NO, he's mean, evil cruel, just plain...plain…argh why can't I think of an insult?!"

"Perhaps you like him," came a soft voice. Satine turned and saw Satie. 

"Satie!" Satine hugged him. "Right when I need a friend, but I do NOT like him! No, it's just…wrong. No, I don't like him!"

"Sure you don't," Satie said sarcastically. Satine laughed and lightly slapped Satie's arm.

"I don't!" Satine said. "Why would I? He insulted me right on the phone!"

"Perhaps he's scared," Satie said. Satine shook her head as they walked down the street. 

"No way, he's just an asshole," Satine said. "Finally an insult comes up, but not good enough."

Satine shivered, Satie touched her bare arms, "You're freezing!" Satie took off his coat, having a thick sweater beneath and put it around Satine's shoulders. "Honestly, Satine, you should wear a coat out here, especially this late, after all it is London, home of the cold.."

Satine laughed lightly and she pulled the coat around her, "Thanks Satie, you're just like a brother to me."

Satie laughed, "My little sister."

~~~~****

Christian had decided to take a walk after that embarrassing phone call and ten minutes of utter confusion. He had to do something, write, think…think above all things he had to think. He grabbed his long black coat and went outside for a nice cool walk in the evening.

Christian walked along the campus, when he hear a loud aggravated yell. He looked up the street and saw Satine. Christian paused, his legs trembled, embarrassment, that's all. For some reason, he followed her. He stayed far enough behind to not hear her, but close enough to follow her. 

His hands balled into fists as he saw him put his coat on her, they laughed, they seemed to be having a good time. What was this feeling? No, it was nothing, absolutely nothing. Just cold, yeah he was just cold. He quickly turned around and headed back to his flat.

~~~~****

"So how'll we save up for a ticket?" Nny asked Monsieur Zidler in class the next day. "Are we supposed to buy it ourselves?"

"How you save up is your own decision," Monsieur Zidler. "The truth is, this is NOT a school funded activity. While yes, you will be excused from all your other classes for a month, and your work sent to Paris for you, it is not a school funded activity, you will be responsible for buying your own ticket."

"What if one of us or a few can't afford it?" another student asked.

"It's a pity for you, and you're partner. You will have to remain here, doing pure book work on the Moulin Rouge and the Bohemian revolution," Monsieur Zidler said. The kid snapped his fingers disappointed that he couldn't be excused from the work. "Oh yes, yes, more work for you, boohoo, your fault."

"How long do we have?" Anna asked.

"Just a few weeks, maybe a month."

"You expect us to save up enough money in that amount of time?!" Nny yelled. Zidler flinched.

"Ask your parents for help, or a friend," Zidler said. "But I will be helping all of you pay a quarter of the amount, so you just pay the other 75 percent."

"Alright," Nny said. Then the bell rang, end of class.

"Remember, you will be responsible for your own ticket!" Zidler yelled. Everyone left by the time he was mid-sentence.

~~~~****

"So, to save up the money to get to Paris. We should all save up seventy five percent of our daily money we get, hell I can live off of a hundred pounds a week, what about you two?" Nny asked. They nodded. Nny took out her money and put it in a pile on the bed. Satine sat her desk doing her homework from another class. Anna was counting the money, putting pence by their value in piles, keeping notes on her notepad. Nny counted the large pound notes over fifty. Nny reached over to the shelf four feet away and fell, taking the sheet with her, and the money. "OW!"

"HEY!" Anna yelled. "You tossed all the pence around! Now I have to recount it!"

Nny stood up and grabbed a jar of money she had. She turned around, grinned and grabbed her portable CD player and took out the CD, "I know just what to listen to, to help us count!"

"No, no, no, no," Anna said. Nny put the CD in the CD player and turned it to track six. Drums echoed out as she turned the volume up. Then Nny sang along to the voice of Davey Havok.

"_I lay me down tonight, much further down, swim in the calm, tonight, this art does drown_," Nny sang. Anna sighed, she thought that Nny was going to torture her with that other music…horrible music that Nny only tolerated to torture Anna…Backstreet Boys! "_What follows me as the whitest lace of light will Swallow whole, just begs to be imbrued. What follows has lead me to this place where I belong, with all erased!"_

Nny sat down, "Long live Davey!"

Anna and Satine laughed, they knew Nny was obsessed.

"Right, well, let's get counting again," Anna said taking her seat on the floor and recounting the pence.

"We'll have to set aside extra money for, you know," Nny said.

"Yeah, I know."

"For what?" Satine asked. Anna and Nny looked at Satine and smiled innocently.

"Nothing, just our own interests!" They said at the same time.

Satine cocked an eyebrow suspiciously, "Really? But I know your 'own' interests is  destroying someone else's life."

"Destroy lives?" Nny repeated.

"Why, Satine, we'd never do such a thing! NEVER!" Anna said innocently.

Satine rolled her eyes, "Suuure." She gathered her books and papers and pencils and stood up, "I'll be out in the courtyard studying. I'll see you two later."

"See ya laters, Satine," Nny said. "Oh and if you see Christian, say 'hi' to him."

"Why?"

"For us, she means," Anna said. Satine looked at them suspiciously again then nodded and walked out. Anna turned to Nny, "Could you be any more obvious in our plans?"

"Sorry, but like I said, I'm not good at this, just making them meet and being evil," Nny said. Anna laughed.

"Evil indeed!"

~~End Chapter~~

We'll see how the evil plotting goes soon enough!

From Jester: JOIN BOHOWAVE DAMN IT!


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